


something a little not so friendly

by veLEvet



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, book clubs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 15:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17164796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veLEvet/pseuds/veLEvet
Summary: Jiwoo drags Jungeun to a book club meeting, and Jungeun never thought she'd find a literature nerd cute, but that blonde girl rattling off about apparitions and humors really, really has Jungeun smitten at first sight.





	something a little not so friendly

**Author's Note:**

> blows a kiss for tara.... can't believe i wrote gross lipsoul for u for xmas

Jiwoo’s staring at her with pleading eyes. Jungeun doesn’t want to falter, so she does her best to keep a straight, neutral face.

 

“Please.”

 

“No.”

 

“ _ Please _ .”

 

“ _ No. _ ”

 

“PLEASE,” Jiwoo says, her eyes going wide and glossy, like she’s on the verge of tears.

 

Jungeun bites on her tongue. She doesn’t want Jiwoo to cry… Dammit.

 

“... _ Fine _ , I’ll go in,” Jungeun concedes with a sigh, glancing away.

 

Jiwoo lights up the second Jungeun agrees, like she wasn’t even on the brink of crying two seconds ago. “ _ Great _ ! You’re gonna love it, I promise!”

 

“I didn’t even read the book,” Jungeun mumbles, following Jiwoo inside the coffee shop. She was only supposed to be Jiwoo’s ride, but instead, Jungeun’s roped into actually sitting in on Jiwoo’s book club meeting.

 

“That’s okay! You can just watch and see if you like it!” Jiwoo beams. “And don’t worry, a lot of people don’t actually read the book!”

 

Jungeun scrunches her nose. “Sounds like all literature courses in college…” 

 

“Kinda! Except there’s coffee and no grades!” Jiwoo says. She drags Jungeun with her to the circle near back of the shop where they hold the book clubs meetings. Jiwoo sees how one of the couches is unoccupied, and she drags Jungeun there. Jungeun doesn’t put up a fight as she’s pulled to the couch and dragged down next to Jiwoo, she just quietly accepts her fate.

 

“So,” Jungeun eyes some of the people around them. “What was the book we were supposed to read?”

 

“Hamlet!” Jiwoo says. “You’ve had to read that before for class, I’m sure!”

 

“Yes, I’ve been assigned it at least four times.”

 

“See! So you  _ have _ read the book for this week!”

 

“I have never once read a page of the play.”

 

Jiwoo’s face falls. “...Of course. Well, you can stay quiet and just listen as we discuss, okay?”

 

“Don’t bore me to sleep,” Jungeun mumbles. She hears the bell of the coffee shop door open, and she lazily glances over towards the door. She watches as a blonde girl runs over to them, a smile on her face as she takes up in an empty chair in the circle, which happens to be right next to the couch Jungeun and Jiwoo are splitting.

 

The book club meeting starts shortly after that, and the organizer, Yoohyeon, greets everyone. “I hope everyone had a nice week since we last met! I see we have a new face joining us today!” She gestures to Jungeun. Jungeun just feels her stomach sink with dread. “Would you like to introduce yourself?”

 

Jungeun just leans a little closer to Jiwoo. “Is this the part of the meeting where I say my name and that I’m an alcoholic?” 

 

Jiwoo just pouts her lips. “I hate your sense of humor.” Yet that blonde girl next to Jungeun overhears them and giggles.

 

“I’m Jungeun,” she sighs eventually. “Jiwoo wanted me to join her.”

 

“We’re happy to have you!” Yoohyeon says. She looks around at the other members and smiles some. “Anyone in particular want to start off the discussion? Because if not, I wanted to discuss the ghost of Hamlet’s father.”

 

“His father’s ghost comes to see Hamlet kinda like Mufasa in the Lion King…” Jiwoo notes, her voice filled with wonder and astoundment. 

 

Jungeun just glances over at Jiwoo with furrowed eyebrows. “The… Lion King…” She repeats.

 

“You know, I don’t actually think that apparition was actually meant to be the ghost of Hamlet’s father,” someone says. Jungeun looks to the source, seeing how it’s the blonde girl next to her.

 

“Really?” Yoohyeon says. “Care to explain a little more, Jinsol?”

 

Jinsol nods, a smile growing on her lips. “It’s really striking to me how the apparition vanishes when the rooster calls in the morning… like it’s afraid of the sun. You know, how a demon would be. And all the stage directions for the entrance of the apparition always have it rising from the ground, kind of like, you know… a demon rising from hell.”

 

“She’s got a point, y’know,” Jungeun cuts in, her arms crossed over her chest. Jinsol’s eyes are immediately on her. “The trap door on the stages back then both let people drop into and rise out of them. They called the space under the trap door ‘hell,’ so… quite literally, the apparition is rising from hell.”

 

Jinsol listens intently as Jungeun talks, her smile widening to hear how much Jungeun knows of the subject. She nods once Jungeun’s finished and turns to Yoohyeon. “Hamlet himself was afraid that the apparition is a demon masquerading as his father. So, I think the vision was a demon meant to lead Hamlet down the path of revenge. Hamlet fell for it because he’s an earth sign, which explains how he always says his spirit is in melancholy, and back then people believed people with earth humors were more susceptible to demonic deception!”

 

Jungeun immediately has to stop and close her eyes while Jinsol talks, scratching her head as she tries to decipher what she’s saying. Earth signs? Humors? Melancholy? This is way out of her range of knowledge… But Jungeun has to admit, she’s pretty impressed by Jinsol and everything she knows. All of her preconceived notions of book clubs were just suburban mothers who just gossipped over romance novels. Jungeun never thought an intelligent conversation could stem from one, or that people could care enough to look this deeply into a book for  _ fun _ .

 

“You really know your stuff, Jinsol!” Jiwoo says, astonished. Jungeun finds herself nodding. 

 

Jinsol just lets out a laugh and turns her head away sheepishly. “Ahh… I guess you can say that.”

 

Jungeun just watches Jinsol slowly turns back, and Jungeun sees the faint rosy hue on Jinsol’s features once they’re finally in view. Jinsol meets Jungeun’s eye for a moment, and Jungeun just flashes a smile, and Jinsol looks away again almost immediately. Jungeun just blinks, but that smile doesn’t go away, and Jungeun eventually tunes back into the discussion again.

 

Later, once the meeting is over, Jungeun is the one dragging  _ Jiwoo  _ out of the coffee shop, not wanting to waste another moment idly. 

 

“Woah, did you hate it that bad?” Jiwoo asks, her heels scuffing against the ground as Jungeun drags her.

 

“No,” Jungeun says. “We’re going to the bookstore  _ right now _ .”

 

“Right now?” Jiwoo repeats, and suddenly she lets out an excited gasp, her face lighting up. “You mean you wanna come back?!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, maybe, now come on!” Jungeun pulls Jiwoo harder. “We need to get next week’s book right now!”

 

Jiwoo just lights up even brighter, finally wrestling herself out of Jungeun’s grasp so she can run alongside Jungeun with equal energy. “Yeah! Let’s go!”

* * *

The next week, when they’re covering another Shakespeare play, Jungeun and Jinsol end up dominating the discussion between each other. Yoohyeon eventually has to wrap up the session, even though she’s sad to end the lively discussion that’s been going on. While the official meeting is over, Jungeun and Jinsol still talk a little while as everyone else returns their empty coffee cups.

 

“If you understand the mechanics of the language as you’re reading, you’d be surprised how witty the dialogue is! Especially in how Shakespeare uses the unmarked and marked pronouns in different contexts,” Jinsol says animatedly. Jungeun walks closer to Jinsol’s chair now that it’s just them, a smile on her face as she does so. “Like, just switching between ‘thou’ and ‘you’ can reveal so much!”

 

Jungeun just smiles amusedly, listening to Jinsol speak so passionately about the play. “Yeah? Can you show me?” She asks, looking for any reason to keep Jinsol talking.

 

Jinsol’s face lights up with a smile, a shine in her eyes because of Jungeun’s interest. She opens her book again and flips through the pages, trying to find a certain scene. “Ah! There’s this one point when Olivia confesses to Viola, where she begins with ‘you,’ but when she actually admits her love and asks Viola what she thinks of her, she uses the ‘thou’ forms. It shows how she wants to be closer to Viola and wants to have that intimacy and closeness with her! Though, she switches between ‘you’ and ‘thou’ during that conversation, maybe showing her hesitation? But she gravitates more towards ‘thou’ by the end of that scene…”

 

Jungeun smiles a little wider. It’s really endearing, she thinks, to see Jinsol talk so much about these plays. Jinsol looks up in that moment and meets Jungeun’s eye, a faint smile still on her lips, and suddenly she draws in a breath and lets out a hesitant laugh. “Say, um… I don’t have anything to do after this- I don’t know what your day looks like either, but- I was thinking about staying here and grabbing another coffee, if… if you wanted to join me?”

 

Jungeun’s mouth opens from surprise to hear the offer, and she tries to find some sort of response, but she’s cut off by a nervous laugh and a hand on her arm.

 

Jungeun forgot.

 

_ Jiwoo _ .

 

“Ah… Jungie…” Jiwoo laughs sheepishly, pulling Jungeun aside. “My ride…”

 

“Ask Yoohyeon,” Jungeun mutters to Jiwoo, though she smiles over at Jinsol to reassure her, since she looks a little frazzled after being interrupted like that. “I’m busy.”

 

Jiwoo frowns and prods her fingers together. “Yoohyeon left already…”

 

Jungeun glares at Jiwoo, but she can’t keep the angry facade up for long, and she just sighs and nods. “Give me a sec first, okay? I’ll be right out.”

 

Jiwoo smiles gratefully and nods back, ushering Jungeun back to Jinsol. “Yeah! Get on that! I’m rooting for you!”

 

“Shut  _ up, _ Jiwoo,” Jungeun warns in a low hiss, but Jiwoo is long gone by then. Jungeun just looks back at Jinsol and musters her nicest smile. Oh, she really hates having to say this… “I’m sorry- I need to drive my friend back home, so I can’t today, but… here, I’ll give you my number. Let’s try this some other time. I won’t have Jiwoo to worry about that way, then.”

 

Jinsol forces an understanding smile, having already braced herself for the answer, but when Jungeun suggests they try it again some other time, it shocks her. “It’s okay, I get it- wait,  _ really? _ ” She blinks, her eyes going wide. She scrambles to get her phone out of her bag so she can get Jungeun’s number, and she hastily shoves the phone towards Jungeun, still wholly shocked. “I- yeah, here! That’d be great!”

 

Jungeun takes Jinsol’s phone and puts in a new contact for herself. “And… look, I’m sorry about today. I really would’ve stayed if I didn’t have to take Jiwoo back. So let’s try this again sometime soon.”

 

Jinsol lets out a soft laugh, glancing at her feet with a bashful grin curving her lips. “Don’t worry! I understand! But… I would like that a lot, yeah. I’ll text you?”

 

“Please do, you’re the only one with the number,” Jungeun jokes. It gets Jinsol to let out a laugh and ease up a little, so she figures she did a good job. “I’ll see you around!” 

 

Jinsol watches as Jungeun leaves, waving goodbye as Jungeun runs out after Jiwoo. Once she’s alone, she glances down at the new contact page on her phone, and a smile forms on her lips.

 

She already can’t wait.

* * *

When Jinsol texts her a little later, she asks if they could meet up at the park in the city. Jungeun finds it an odd choice, considering how it’s late fall and more than a little chilly outside, but she goes along with it anyway. She just makes sure to dress right for the weather, and she heads out.

 

She finds Jinsol on one of the benches outside of the entrance, and Jungeun sits down next to her, grinning faintly to herself. “Figured you’d be waiting inside,” she says as she sits down. She wonders if Jinsol even noticed her walking up.

 

Jinsol glances over when someone joins her, and she perks up when she sees it’s Jungeun. “Oh, hey!” She flashes a smile. “Ah, I didn’t want to go inside just yet. There’s a lot of restaurants nearby, so I figured we’d grab something to eat and bring it with us inside!”

 

Jungeun smiles faintly to herself. It’s a really cute idea, she has to admit… “That sub shop a block over? I hear they’re  _ really  _ good.” 

 

“I was eyeing that noodle stand, actually…” Jinsol’s gaze is firm on the noodle stand, showing how much she’s craving it. 

 

“I’ll get my food and you’ll get yours, and we can meet up here again,” Jungeun proposes.

 

Jinsol smiles widely and nods. “Great!”

 

Fifteen minutes later or so, they both have their food, so they head into the park and find a picnic table by some trees. Jinsol sets out her bowl of noodles and starts eating, and Jungeun pulls out her sub and a bag of chips she got with it. Jungeun glances at Jinsol’s food because it smells so good, and she sees how there’s an unused pair of chopsticks on the table by her food.

 

“Ah, I think they gave you another pair on accident,” Jungeun comments, taking a bite of her sub.

 

Jinsol lets out a confused hum, mouth full of noodles, but she realizes what Jungeun’s talking about and just shakes her head, covering her mouth with hand. “Oh, I grabbed an extra pair on purpose, in case you wanted any.”

 

Jungeun blinks, surprised. “Really?” She says softly, lowering her gaze back to her food. “Thank you.”

 

Jinsol smiles, her cheeks rosy. “I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted any. I would be trying to steal these noodles if I was in your position right now.”

 

“They must be really good,” Jungeun laughs under her breath.

 

“You should try some for yourself,” Jinsol says, and she encourages it by pushing the container closer.

 

Jungeun glances up at Jinsol with an eyebrow raised, and she sets down her sub and grabs the chopsticks. She takes a bit of noodles and tries them, and she immediately closes her eyes once she tastes them, letting out a hum. “Mm… God, that’s so good…” Jungeun mumbles.

 

“Right?” Jinsol says with a laugh. “Help yourself!”

 

Jungeun’s about to until she stops herself first, setting her chopsticks down and opening her bag of chips. She sets them between her and Jinsol so she can share too. “Here.”

 

Jinsol perks up to see the chips and she immediately reaches in for a few. “Thanks!”

 

And Jungeun just looks over at Jinsol and smiles while she eats. She can’t exactly say she’s done this before, splitting afternoon dinner in the park, but she doesn’t mind how it’s new.

 

She doesn’t think she minds how Jinsol’s new, either.

* * *

The sun sets early since it’s so late in the fall, so it’s fairly dark outside by the time Jungeun and Jinsol finish eating. Jungeun shoves her hands in her coat pockets as she walks on the lit path through the park with Jinsol. Luckily she dressed warmly enough for the weather, so it isn’t too bad. It’s a little cold, however, when she has to stand still because Jinsol really wants to battle the Pokémon Go gym in the park.

 

“Sorry, sorry!” Jinsol says, a sheepish grin on her face as she tries to fight the gym Pokémon.

 

Jungeun just grins to herself and lets out a breath, trying not to let the cold air bother her. “You just better be winning.”

 

“I am!” Jinsol exclaims gleefully, excitement to her voice. “My students got me addicted to this game, agh- I can’t stop playing it…”

 

“Your students?” Jungeun repeats. “You teach? Let me guess, literature?”

 

Jinsol looks up at Jungeun and smiles nervously. “Math, actually.”

 

“Really?” Jungeun sounds surprised. “You could’ve fooled me with how much you know about books.”

 

“I just really like reading,” Jinsol says sheepishly. “But no… I teach high school calculus.”

 

“You seem like you’d be a really good teacher,” Jungeun grins some, her voice going quiet.

 

“Aww, thanks…” Jinsol laughs under her breath, though she tries to deflect the conversation back onto Jungeun so she wouldn’t grow too flustered. “And what about you? What do you do?”

 

“I’m a secretary,” Jungeun says. “Jiwoo and I work at the same office.”

 

“Ah, that explains how you two know each other,” Jinsol nods. “I was happy when Jiwoo brought someone new. I love the girls in the club, but… sometimes a lot of them don’t read the book as intensely as I do, and sometimes I want those really deep conversations, you know?”

 

“I wasn’t exactly a willing participant the first time, but… I came around,” Jungeun laughs a little to herself. “If it makes you feel any better, actual literature classes in college are no different. Not many people read that intensely,” A beat of pause. “I think it’s good you do, though.”

 

“I think it’s good you do too,” Jinsol says, a hesitant smile curving her lips. “You’re really smart, Jungeun.”

 

Jungeun just snorts to that, ducking her head out of view to hide her fluster, though her ears grow red, and not from the cold. “Oh, please… So are you.”

 

Jinsol lets out a hum and steps closer, her gaze drifting to the ground. “I’m glad you showed up one day though. I’ve been wanting to make a new friend for a while.”

 

Jungeun raises an eyebrow to hear that, and she starts walking again. “A friend, huh?” She asks playfully.

 

“Well, when you phrase it like  _ that _ , it just sounds pathetic!” Jinsol protests, walking a little faster to catch up. “I don’t know... Someone new and interesting, I guess.”

 

“Am I new and interesting?” Jungeun looks over at Jinsol, a grin on her lips. 

 

“You’re very new, and,” Jinsol breathes out, averting her gaze. “I’m  _ very _ interested by you.”

 

“ _ ‘By’ _ me?” Jungeun nitpicks. Interested  _ ‘in’ _ her is something she’d rather like.

 

Jinsol huffs. “Are you just going to make me repeat myself a hundred times so you can get the answer you want?”

 

Jungeun smiles a little wider. “Only a few times, and I’ll give up if I don’t hear it.”

 

“I’m interested  _ in _ you, there,” Jinsol finally says, pressing her lips together in a pout. 

 

Jungeun lets out a cheeky laugh, growing a little flustered even if she was fishing for that exact comment. “I was hoping you were, or else I was really going to hate myself for not thinking this was just a friendly outing.”

 

Jinsol seems to grow a little bold with those words. “Well,” she starts in a drawl, “when I asked at the cafe, I only meant it as a friendly outing, so I wouldn’t scare you off.” She raises an eyebrow, grinning playfully. “Do  _ you _ want it to be more than friendly?”

 

Jungeun tilts her head and glances up at the sky, pretending to think it over. “Mm, yeah, I do, because I’ve been thinking about doing something a little not so friendly all day.”

 

“Oh, yeah?” Jinsol says, though her words lose some of that playfulness. Instead, it just sounds hopeful. “And what’s that, exactly?”

 

Jungeun meets Jinsol’s eye and steps closer, reaching out to rest her hand on the side of Jinsol’s face, brushing some hair aside as she did so. Jungeun glances down at Jinsol’s lips, giving Jinsol a moment of pause where nothing happens, just in case Jinsol wants to back out.

 

Jinsol, of course, does no such thing.

 

Jinsol meets Jungeun halfway, closing her eyes as her lips meet Jungeun’s and wrapping an arm around Jungeun’s waist to bring her closer. Jungeun’s lips are soft despite the dry, cold air, and they’re inviting- almost  _ too  _ inviting that Jinsol thinks she could lose herself for hours with Jungeun’s lips on hers. At some point, when Jungeun delves into that side of too inviting, Jinsol reaches up and sets her hand over Jungeun’s and pulls back slowly, a smile forming on her lips.

 

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” Jinsol teases, dropping their hands from her cheek and lacing their fingers together. “I have to teach in the morning.”

 

Jungeun just laughs at Jinsol’s joke. Her ears are red again, and her cheeks are a lighter shade. “I wasn’t doing anything.” She says guiltily. 

 

Jinsol laughs too, and she starts walking again with her hand still in Jungeun’s. “Sure you weren’t.”

 

“Listen-” Jungeun tries to defend herself, “there’s something  _ vaguely _ attractive about someone knowing everything to do with melancholy humors and marked and unmarked pronouns, I couldn’t help myself.”

 

Jinsol laughs even louder, though her face reddens considerably. “Oh, stop!”

 

Jungeun smiles and calms down some, squeezing Jinsol’s hand in her own. They start walking again, and soon Jungeun takes a glance over at Jinsol. “Do you live nearby?”

 

Jinsol nods. “My house is like, a ten minute drive away?” She pauses. “Hey, I thought I said not to get ahead of yourself…”

 

“I’m just making conversation!” Jungeun frowns. “My apartment is only a few blocks down from here. I was just going to ask if you wanted to walk there with me, if the cold wasn’t a problem.”

 

“Oh,” Jinsol mumbles, feeling embarrassed. “Okay, I can walk you back!” 

 

Jungeun smiles to hear it, her thumb brushing over Jinsol’s hand. “Thanks, Jinsol.”

 

The walk to Jungeun’s apartment takes less time than either of them would’ve liked, because it means saying goodbye. Jungeun stops in front of the complex’s entrance and Jinsol stops after her, drawing in a breath and flashing a smile.

 

“Can I see you again sometime?” Jinsol asks, hopeful.

 

Jungeun nods, a smile on her lips. “Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

 

Jinsol’s face brightens to hear it. “That’s great! I can’t wait already!”

 

Jungeun’s smile widens. “Neither can I. Maybe we can relax some and get started on the book for next week?” 

 

“That sounds great,” Jinsol says softly. She hesitates for a moment, but she leans forward and kisses Jungeun lightly on the lips, lingering for a second before pulling away. “I’ll see you then?”

 

Jungeun closes her eyes when Jinsol leans forward, smiling after Jinsol kisses her. “Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

 

And when Jinsol leaves, she waves goodbye with a wide grin on her face before turning away, and Jungeun just finds herself grinning too, waving back.

 

When she gets back in her apartment, Jiwoo gives Jungeun hell for the silly grin on her face.

* * *

Later, when Jungeun is over at Jinsol’s house, reading the next book together between themselves, Jungeun leans over in the middle of one of Jinsol’s animated talks, cutting her off with a kiss. And every time Jungeun breaks away for a second, Jinsol tries to resume where she left off, but Jungeun just kisses her again.

 

“I’m starting to think you don’t want to hear my theory about Louisa in Hard Times,” Jinsol says when Jungeun pulls away one time.

 

Jungeun just smiles. “It’s really cute when you theorize like that, I couldn’t resist.”

 

And Jinsol can’t resist it either when Jungeun leans in again, and she just closes the book in her hand and pushes it away. She can read and theorize later.

 

She just wants to focus on Jungeun.

**Author's Note:**

> au/writing twt: haseulhae  
> au/writing curiouscat: veLEvet


End file.
